Bootstrap Business Seminar 9: Telling your Story
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•498 views
City University London's 9 week seminar programme on entrepreneurship. This week looks at how to tell your story, how to engage people with you and your business and how to make the most out of relationships, with Adah Parris.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (16)
More from CityStarters
More from CityStarters (16)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Bootstrap Business Seminar 9: Telling your Story
- 3. Everything is connected, you just have to see the patterns
- 4. The Secret Power of Time
- 5. All the world’s a stage
- 6. When is a brick not just a brick?
- 10. Composer, conductor or orchestral musician?
Editor's Notes
- This has never been a more important time to understand and harness the power and value of our personal brand equity. We have become digital omnivores ‘always on’ using social media to push out ‘updates’ about who we are and what we are doing; to tell our brand stories. However, this also means that we have opened the Pandora’s Box to our lives and so risk miscommunication and misinterpretation. Our use of technology has meant that our concept of time has changed, we have ideas and make decisions made faster; we create ‘relationships’ quicker, but is this all a case of quantity over quality? So in this world where time is apparently of the essence we need to adopt new mindsets and behaviours to be able to tell our stories. We can start by looking at millennials. There are lots of reports, articles and papers about their use (or misuse) of social media and communication tools but the common theme is that they have an expressed need for, and a desire to create authentic human connections (albeit it in the virtual world). One that fits with their own picture of themselves. For them it’s about respecting their authenticity, their creativity and their diversity. There has to be a dialog (a conversation) rather than a narrative, there has to be social and emotional engagement which should be be flexible and organic. But it’s also about power. They are the CEOs of their own brands, they know their customers (their audience) and the jobs they are trying to do, they have a perception of the value they can add to their relationships and they are not afraid to show their vulnerabilities while telling their stories. Their tag would read ‘I made me’. Look back to move forward Be self-aware and reflective (personally and professionally but don’t live in the past) Old behaviours, new technology Be curious - seem to have lost that spirit Paradigm shifts The Digital Enlightenment The Third Industrial Revolution How much time do we spend understanding and cultivating our passions, the jobs we are trying to do and the value we bring to our relationships? There’s a great TEDx talk by Abha Dawesar: Life in the "digital now" 1.27 https://youtu.be/lV3trdyDdHE?t=87 1.54 Our story, therefore, needs two dimensions of time: a long arc of time that is our lifespan, and the timeframe of direct experience that is the moment. Now the self that experiences directly can only exist in the moment, but the one that narrates needs several moments, a whole sequence of them, and that's why our full sense of self needs both immersive experience and the flow of time.
- So how do you start taking back the power of your brand in order to tell your brand story? You start by looking for patterns and realising that everything is connected. Everything you are, everything you do and everything you say. There is a lot we can learn from bees and the patterns of hives. Nature has adapted and thrived for 3.8 billion years. If we take a closer look, it is a source of wisdom that can improve our designs and decision-making on both a personal and professional level. The combs are natural engineering marvels, bees use the least possible amount of wax to provide the greatest amount of storage space, with the greatest possible structural stability. Understanding these simple yet complex patterns led to mathematician John Conway developing the a theory called the Game of Life; which in turn led to the development of early mathematical algorithms; which we can now see in 3D modelling structures. So you see, everything really is connected. For us, we need to recognise our own patterns in their simplest form. Who are we? What jobs are we trying to? Understanding what excites us about each of those roles will help us start to recognise patterns that we can build on.
- Psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo explains how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. In his book The Secret Powers of Time he says that we underestimate the power of technology in rewiring our brains, our capacity for idea generation, decision making, problem solving, storytelling and our levels of expectation. When thinking about brand storytelling it’s surprising to see that how many people and brands still underestimate how quickly reputations can be made and broken, especially due to our proliferation of social media and digital communications. We’ve opened the Pandora’s Box to our lives and our brands. It’s too late to close the box but now is the time to take control of our brand stories in order to maximise our brand equity. How do we do that? Well we need to start by looking backwards, to understand old behaviours in relation to new technologies. So where did this concept of branding start?
- Session 1: Who am I? 5 minutes Most of us (and this applies to businesses as well) are trying to manage at least two personalities. Who we are in our professional context and who are we in our social context? There is only one version of you. The more you fight to keep them separate the more fragmented you become, the more energy you use and the less time you spend being who you are really meant to be. We tend to wear masks. There are lots of different psychological and sociological theories about why masking but I’m quite interested in the concept of Dramaturgy, the theory that we wear different character and or social masks depending on the audience, situation, and or view of the theatre of life that we are currently performing in. But is that authentic and what does that do to the story we are trying to tell about ourselves and our personal brands? Do we push out narratives rather than have or be open to have dialogue and real connections? Now I’m going to ask you to strip that back and hold a mirror up to yourselves for a moment. Look at the person behind those different masks and see what patterns see and can you make any connections? What character, identity or masks do we wear? What excites us but those different masks or identities? I’d like you to take 8 pieces of paper and on the top of each write down what role you currently play (personally or professionally) e.g. Mother, Daughter, Entrepreneur….(2 mins) When you have written all 8, go back to the first piece of paper and now write underneath, what excites you about that role. (5 mins) Now I want you to rank those pieces of paper in order of importance to you where you are now in your life/ career. Don’t worry the order can change but this is about you in the NOW. (2 mins). Now looking at your top 3, find a partner and have a short discussion about each of those roles and there reason they excite you. (5 mins). Ask for some to share with the group and reflect on any personal revelations/ surprises.
- For who (customers)/ Market size https://getpocket.com/a/read/917778980 MVP The version of a new product that brings back the maximum amount of validated learning about your customers with the least effort. MLP The version of a new product that brings back the maximum amount of love from your early tribe members with the least effort. “It’s better to build something that a small number of users love, than a large number of users like.” Sam Altman, Y Combinator When you don’t know who your customers are, understand they have personal identities that want to be recognised, AND have understanding the job they are trying to do. Build a wall, a house, a hospital or just use the brick as a door stop? You need to have an insight into their ‘why’? Look at them in terms of the functional, social and emotional needs as individual customer segments. They have thoughts, feelings and aspirations (remember they are trying to manage, curate and tell their their own brand stories just like you). Therefore your interaction with them should empathetic and a series of engaging and authentic dialogs and not a series of narratives. They buy your product or services because they have an understanding of what THEIR customers are trying to do. They know how long the supply chain is and where they sit in it, and the relative value of that position (which actually may be flexible). So when telling your own brand story it is worth considering who are your customers' customers and who depends on your work in order to get their own jobs done? By understanding (and demonstrating) this, you are starting to build a 360 view of your own brand AND it’s associations. Remember, everything is connected. Keep looking for the patterns. So, if you’re a entrepreneur then your customers could be your investors (current or potential), your family, business partners, journalists, employees and end users. Now you know who they are and what they are trying to do, how do you understand and define your value in relation to each? Who is your most important customer (if there is one)?
- Session 4: Value Proposition 5 minutes Now I’d like you to start thinking of your customers identified in the previous exercise. Remember they are managing their own brand stories/ identities. You’ve identified the problem you are trying to solve so now take yourself out of the picture. How would they solve the problem without you? What are the things that keep them awake at night and what are the things that what are the things that they are happy with? You are now beginning to look at your customers (remember you can also do this for your personal customers) from an empathetic viewpoint. This is where you are starting to work out your brand equity, your value proposition, and how to start telling your brand story. You are starting to structure a blueprint for creating and maintaining a dialog with each customer segment. Remember your customers are also trying to manage their own brand identities, stories and equity. They are the composers of their own pieces of music, brands and are fluent at telling their brand stories because they understand the perceived value they add to each their relationships and they know how AND when to communicate authentically to each BECAUSE they are coming from a place of empathy and flexibility that might appear before them. Exercise - take 2 customer segments (including one internal department) and discuss and agree their pains and their gains. (15 minutes) Share with Group A or B respectively. Now go back re-read the problem you agreed you are trying to solve as a business. I’d like you to refer back to the list of products and services you listed in session 1 (refer to the ones on the wall) and the jobs you have listed that your customers are trying to do. Stay in groups, and thinking about the job your customer is trying to do: Describe the benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised by - GAINS Describe negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks that your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the job done - PAINS Revisit the list of products and services created in Session 1 Is there anything you would add/ remove? Why? Describe how your products and services could enhance the benefits you customers would expect, desire or be surprised by - GAIN ENHANCERS Describe how your products and services could alleviate your customer pains - PAIN RELIEVERS Create a list of deliverables for your different customer segments Discuss the measurable behaviour changes you would see in your customers if the deliverables were implemented Regroup and discuss What assumptions have been made? Refine and improve the list deliverables
- Chess is a game of strategy. You know the names of each piece and the moves they are allowed to make and the rules of the game. As you play the value you place to each piece may change relative to short, medium and long term objectives of your game. You need to be flexible in your thinking and strategy and sometimes take risks. It’s a simple analogy but we are often so busy chasing the next goal that we forget to enjoy and appreciate the journey (or the game). Give yourself permission to stop and think about your customers as those different chess pieces. What is their value (and how do you add value) in relation to your current game and their position on the board? To understand their value in relation to your current game you need to think about what their current solutions to the problem you are trying to solve. What are they happy with and how can you exceed or surprise them? What keeps them awake at night and how can you alleviate some of their concerns. Looking at this in relation to your current resources (pieces on the board) (including how you manage the relationship(s)) this gives you an indication of the value exchange between you and them for the current climate (or game). Do they need to be sacrificed for a long term strategic move? Or, do you need to increase the amount of value you ascribe to them? This is where you are starting to work out your brand equity, your value proposition, and how to start telling your brand story. You are starting to structure a blueprint for creating and maintaining a dialog with each customer segment. You begin to understand the perceived value you add to each their relationships and have a better understanding of how AND when to communicate authentically to each BECAUSE you’ll be coming from a place of empathy and flexibility that might appear before them.
- Customer Journey - 5 minutes Michelin Guides (French: Guide Michelin [ɡid miʃ.lɛ̃]) are a series of annual guide books published by the French company Michelin for more than one hundred years. In 1900 the tire manufacturers André Michelin and his brother Édouard published the first edition of a guide for French motorists. At the time there were fewer than 3,000 cars in France, and the Michelin guide was intended to boost the demand for cars, and thus for car tires. For the first edition of the Michelin Guide the brothers had nearly 35,000 copies printed. It was given away free of charge, and contained useful information for motorists, including maps, instructions for repairing and changing tires, and lists of car mechanics, hotels and petrol stations. In 1904 the brothers published a similar guide to Belgium.[2] The company's website recounts the story that André Michelin, visiting a tire merchant, noticed copies of the guide being used to prop up a workbench. Based on the principle that "man only truly respects what he pays for," the brothers decided to charge a price for the guide. They also made several changes, notably: listing restaurants by specific categories; the debut of hotel listings (initially only for Paris); and the abandonment of advertisements in the guide.[2] Recognizing the growing popularity of the restaurant section of the guide, the brothers recruited a team of inspectors to visit and review restaurants, who were always careful in maintaining anonymity.[4] In 1926, the guide began to award stars for fine dining establishments. Initially, there was only a single star awarded. Then, in 1931, the hierarchy of one, two, and three stars was introduced. Finally, In 1936, the criteria for the starred rankings were published:[2] 1 Michelin star: "A very good restaurant in its category" ("Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie") 2 Michelin stars: "Excellent cooking, worth a detour" ("Table excellente, mérite un détour") 3 Michelin stars: "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" ("Une des meilleures tables, vaut le voyage”). For the restaurants this was also about understanding their customer journey. They need to build a level of expectation by being entered in the guide, they need to ensure that their patrons (and the mystery inspectors) had the best possible experience and then they needed to know that there was a feedback loop for satisfied and dissatisfied customers. This is what you need to consider and map out for your different customer groups.
- Partnerships/ relationships This is also you. You as a team as part of a collective brand story. This is the London Symphony Orchestra at The Barbican. When thinking about telling your brand story you have to think of yourself as the composer. Who are you going to select to be part of that orchestra? Can they read music? Do they know (or can they learn) the piece? Can they keep time and do they play the right instrument and have the level expertise needed? Now you have a better understanding of what job your customers are trying to do and how you can add value, think about the criteria for those you want to become your brand partners. Brand partnerships are about a mutual value exchange, a synergy of brand stories. What value are you offering to your partner(s)? - Performance, customisation, design, pricing, cost reductions? What value do you desire in exchange? Tangible assets such as buildings, stock, capital or intangible assets such as knowledge, reputation, networks and scale? What activities need to be undertaken to make that exchange is real, measurable and accessible? You are creating a template for future brand partnerships a blueprint for your fans, your groupies and the people who will actually help you get to the next phase, who have a synergy with your brand story. Who would you say is the composer and the conductor of this orchestra? What instrument do you play and how can you improve your skills? You have each been selected you are the the cream of the crop in terms of musicians, you have the skills, the knowledge, are able to read music and keep time. As with an orchestra everyone is responsible for their own instrument and knows when to come in, they understand the rules of the piece and so this session is to help you, as an orchestra, play the most beautiful piece of music that moves people, connected with them and becomes part of their own story. How do we start? By getting you to get into the mindset, adopt the behaviours and understand the tools required of you individually and collectively to be able to play that piece of music.
- How do we operate? 60 minutes A business principle about making informed decisions. Only 10% of the iceberg is actually seen above the water. If you think about how you operate and as individuals, a team and a brand then only 10% of your efforts are actually seen by your customers. It is then important to make sure that the remaining 90% of your efforts is maximised. This starts with looking at how you operate. What are the rules of the game, how you make decisions, what you say about yourself to the outside world and how what assumptions you make. This next exercise is going to help you examine, define and restate the rules of your own game.
- What’s your story - 5 minutes You’ve looked at your own personal roles and your professional ones, you’ve looked at yourselves as a collective. So, what’s your story? Well, you now have a better understanding of your audience (your customers) and their needs and desires. So how do you verbally communicate your brand as succinctly as possible. Think about the 5 W’s - Who, What, Where, When and Why? Some people add an H - How? Here’s a little quiz for you. I’m going to describe some films in six words or less. Can you figure out what they are? Swimmers get killed. Bigger boat needed - Jaws Lost Alien befriends little boy - ET Unsinkable ship sets sail. Iceberg. Sinks. - Titanic Radioactive spider bite doesn't kill teenager. - Spiderman Human befriends blue aliens, becomes one. - Avatar